


Drink to the Glory Days

by treya_barton



Series: FFXV NPC Weekend [1]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-25
Updated: 2018-05-25
Packaged: 2019-05-13 14:38:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14750789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/treya_barton/pseuds/treya_barton
Summary: This is my Friday prompt for NPC Weekend!I focused on the friendship between Cid, Cor, and Weskham~Friday, May 25thVoted Prompt: NPC friendships/rivalriesBonus Character Prompt: Dino Ghiranze & Vyv Dorden





	Drink to the Glory Days

Once light returned to Eos, Cor, Weskham, and Cid planned on meeting up in Insomnia when rebuilding efforts had gotten far enough to make the trip possible for Weskham.  Weskham had managed to make it out of Altissia when things started to get bad and had travelled with different groups of hunters helping out where he could.  Cor, meanwhile, had been in charge of the remaining Crownsguard, Kingsglaive, and hunters and travelled throughout Lucis to take charge of the important hunts and efforts to keep daemons at bay, while Cid had moved from Hammerhead to Lestallum to help modify weapons for those who needed it.

Now that it was light again, Cor had moved back to Insomnia to help with rebuilding efforts and to stay by Noctis and his personal guard’s side.  Noctis was fully utilizing his second chance at life, and he and his friends were trying their best to work with other leaders who had managed to survive in order to figure out how they would create a new system of government now that the world was in shambles.  Cid, who was crochety as ever and really starting to show his age now, had moved back to Hammerhead to live the rest of his life in peace, happy that Cindy had kept his shop in good condition when it had been used as a hunter location for all those years.  Weskham had returned to Altissia as soon as possible to help with rebuilding efforts there and was now one of the leaders representing Accordo in the talks and negotiations taking part as everyone tried to get their lives back together.

But, they figured they could all use a bit of a break and pay their respects to the two central members to their group who were no longer with them.  Regis and Clarus left a gaping hole with their absence, and it was something that the three of them had never had a chance to discuss since the world had been cast into chaos when Insomnia fell all those years ago.  It was funny how as they got older they had all fallen out of touch, yet any time they happened to meet it felt just like it had all those years ago when they had been taking their own road trip to Accordo.  Cor had seen Prompto, Ignis, and Gladiolus struggle without Noctis during the ten years of darkness, and it had hurt him to see them drift apart just as he and his friends did.  But, he and the others were happy to see that now the four of them were closer than ever and relying on each other as they navigated through this new world that had been made possible by their struggles and sacrifice.

They were planning on visiting the younger men and sharing stories about Noctis’s and Gladiolus’s dad with them as well, knowing that they also had not had proper time to grieve their deaths, but they felt like their first night together should just be the three of them.  So, one Friday evening, once Cid and Weskham had both arrived in town and dropped their stuff off at Cor’s modest apartment, they had made their way to one of the bars that had popped up in Insomnia.  It was run by Libertus who was happy to get back to doing something he used to enjoy and had named it C&N for Crowe and Nyx.  Noctis was also planning on building a memorial for the Kingsglaive who had sacrificed their lives defending Insomnia during the invasion, and he had Libertus heavily involved in the project to make sure it was something he feel his companions would be satisfied with.

Libertus was there that night, and he gave Cor a nod before pouring him his usual gin and tonic.  Cid ended up ordering a whiskey, while Weskham ordered a martini.  Once they got their drinks, they sat in silence for several moments, trying to figure out how to get started.  To their surprise, it was Cor who finally spoke up – he was always more taciturn and serious so the other two had not expected it.  He was the youngest of the group, but years of leadership during the struggle while Noctis had disappeared into the Crystal had left him looking more aged.  “I feel I should get something off my chest I’ve been wanting to say for eleven years,” he said, hand gripping his drink as if for reassurance.  He was staring down at the table, unable to meet the older men’s eyes.

“Spit it out, kid,” Cid said gruffly, and Cor couldn’t help but smile lightly at the nickname.  He was hardly a kid anymore and had shot up past Cid’s height ages ago, but the man would always make him feel their age difference.

“I want to apologize to you both.  And to Regis and Clarus,” Cor said after clearing his throat.  There was a slight wetness to his eyes – something that he would normally try to hide at all costs.  “I was there, in Insomnia, and I couldn’t…”  Cor’s breath hitched and he quickly took a sip of his drink.

“Cor,” Weskham replied gently.  He had always been the mediator of the group and a voice of reason amongst the other much more hot-headed personalities.  He placed a comforting hand on Cor’s shoulder.  “You know it wasn’t your fault, right?  Regis and Clarus knew what was coming and sent you to the outskirts because they wanted you to save as many as you could and help out their sons.  You can’t blame yourself for that.”

“Wes’s right,” Cid grunted.  “Those two stubborn idiots weren’t goin’ta pull you into that mess and you know it.  You did the best you could and helped Reggie’s brat of a son and his buddies save the world.  I think you did a damn good job with the hand you were dealt.”

“I seem to remember you complimenting that brat of a son recently for finally growing into a decent king,” Weskham replied idly, and Cid scowled at him while Cor chuckled.  The younger man looked a bit more relieved now that he had gotten his worries off his chest, and they soon slipped into reminiscing about their road trip and all the different scrapes and arguments they had gotten into, along with the danger they had been in as they travelled to Accordo in order to gain them as an ally against Niflheim. 

Between stories about Clarus’s love of the outdoors that he had passed onto Gladio, Regis’s enthusiasm for exploring the world outside of Insomnia and knack for fishing he had passed onto Noctis, the delicious meals Weskham had prepared on the trip, Cid’s rowdy temper that had gotten them into trouble on several occasions, and Cor’s stubbornness and desire to surpass the others who were much older, they found themselves thinking about a time of life that was almost foreign to them now with everything they had survived.  It was sometimes hard to even remember what Clarus and Regis had looked like anymore, which prompted Cid to pull out his picture from their road trip that he had brought with him, figuring it would come in handy.

“Would you look at that,” Weskham breathed, picking up the photo frame gingerly.  He had lost his copy when Altissia was trashed by Leviathan and ransacked by Niflheim before the daemons had finished up the job.  Cor similarly had lost his picture during the fall of Insomnia and so was happy to get a chance to see it again.

“Lookit what a baby he was back then,” Cid said, pointing to Cor and chuckling as Cor glared at him.  “I wonder if people’d still call you Immortal if I reminded them you were a baby once just like the rest of us,” he continued.

“All this proves is that you’ve always been ancient,” Cor muttered, while Weskham laughed and Cid couldn’t help but smile at his own expense.

“Still a mouthy brat,” Cid said fondly.  He then glanced as Weskham.  “You gonna cook us something tonight, for old times’ sake?”

Weskham grinned.  “That large suitcase isn’t only for my vanity,” he replied.  “I have something planned for tonight. I figured we could partake in some of Regis and Clarus’s favorite dishes in their memory.”

Both Cor and Cid nodded in agreement, seeming to like the idea.  “Maybe we should make a toast to Reggie and Clare,” Cid suggested.  “With their favorite drinks.”

They all seemed to like that idea, and after finishing their drinks they each ordered a glass of wine and a bottle of beer, just as Regis and Clarus used to do when they were younger.  They would both occasionally drink scotch and whiskey, but wine and beer were what they fondly remembered of their friends and felt most fitting.  “To Clarus, the best damn shield Lucis has ever had,” Cid started, and they all clinked their beer bottles together before taking a sip.

“Not that Gladiolus isn’t also a damn good shield,” Cor added, and the other two immediately agreed.

“There’s no way he can catch up to his father now though,” Weskham said thoughtfully.  “When he died in such a way, we will always honor his memory in a way Gladiolus won’t be able to match.”

“I don’t think the kid wants to, if I’m bein’ honest,” Cid shrugs.  “He just wants to admire his old man like the rest of us.”

Weskham then held up his wine glass with the other two following suit.  “And to Regis, who was more than our Prince, more than a King, and first and foremost, our friend.”  They clinked their glasses together before taking a long sip to that.  “Noctis really has filled in those shoes quite nicely, hasn’t he?” Weskham commented after they had each set down their glass again.

“Yeah he really grew up from the brat I met before Insomnia fell,” Cid agreed.  “Regis definitely spoiled him rotten.”

Cor snorted.  “He loved his son,” he corrected.  “And allowed him to become the man he is today.”

Cid shrugged, but they could tell by his fond expression how much he cared about Noctis and his friends.  “Now, we hafta think up the most embarrassin’ stories to tell their kids tomorrow,” he said conspiratorially, and the other two laughed before helping him dig up some good ones.

They ended up not leaving the bar until the early hours of the morning, and they stayed up even longer at Cor’s apartment as Weskham cooked for them and they continued their conversation.  They weren’t sure after this how often they would be seeing each other again – they all had their own lives and their own projects to attend to – but it was nice to see each other and finally talk through all of the things that had been hanging over them since they split after Regis became king and especially after the fall of Insomnia.  So, if they were a little groggy the next day when they met up with Noctis, Gladiolus, Ignis, and Prompto, no one mentioned it.  And if they spent another night staying up late sharing those embarrassing stories with the overly attentive kids who didn’t get to hear them growing up, then they were on vacation anyway and had an excuse.


End file.
